I'm taking my family this weekend for a low impact/slow pace style vacation in the valley. I have a few good ideas about where I think I'd like to go for a nice picnic lunch with a view, but I'm curious what you forum dwellers might come up with.

Here's the criteria:

1) Must be in or near the valley. (I'd like to ride bikes from Upper Pines to the beginning of the hike)2) Must be accessible to intermediate level hikers. Scrambles and off trail hikes are great!3) Must have a spectacular view and be reasonably private. Something off the beaten path?

Any and all suggestions are welcome! Thank You!

"It is all very beautiful and magical here - a quality which cannot be described. You have to live it and breath it., let the sun bake it into you" - Ansel Adams

I'm taking my family this weekend for a low impact/slow pace style vacation in the valley. I have a few good ideas about where I think I'd like to go for a nice picnic lunch with a view, but I'm curious what you forum dwellers might come up with.

Here's the criteria:

1) Must be in or near the valley. (I'd like to ride bikes from Upper Pines to the beginning of the hike)2) Must be accessible to intermediate level hikers. Scrambles and off trail hikes are great!3) Must have a spectacular view and be reasonably private. Something off the beaten path?

Any and all suggestions are welcome! Thank You!

I am at a loss to think of anything place that meets all of your criteria but maybe someone else here can think of something.

Although it does not have a spectacular view, we like to picnic on the huge boulder that is in front of the Indian Caves. You can ride your bikes to that area and then walk up from the bike path. Easy walk to the boulder and you can walk right up the boulder on it's right side. The trail to Mirror Lake goes between where the Indian Caves are and the boulder but there have been times when we did not see anyone the whole time we were eating there. This weekend there should not be a lot of people in the park so chances are you might have the area to yourselves. Note that this is not a formal picnic area so there are no tables or trash cans.

Another spot that we snack at is a boulder that sticks out into the Merced just above the Vernal Falls bridge. If you go up the trail past the bridge just before the sign for the start of the Mist Trail if you look to your left you will see what looks like some steps and a small sign. Go down those steps which go between some rocks and you will see the boulder which runs from the bank into the Merced. You can get an almost straight on view of Vernal Falls. However, there can be times when there are other people there. Just be careful because although the boulder is fairly flat, it does slope towards the river and there are places that the boulder can be slick. Watch you packs because the squirrels are pretty tenacious about trying to get into them for food. I once had a squirrel try to sit on my lap while I was eating.

I strenuously disagree with anyone who thinks the Curry Village pizza is edible.

The FAR BETTER pizza is at the Yosemite Lodge cafeteria. Buy your pizza (or any other food you want) there, wrap it up and put it in your backpack.

Though not technically the Valley floor, hike the Four Mile Trail up to Glacier Point. Trailhead is in the Valley floor. Great view, water fountain and then eat your pizza up there. Nothing else comes remotely close.

QuoteUlysses61
I strenuously disagree with anyone who thinks the Curry Village pizza is edible.

The FAR BETTER pizza is at the Yosemite Lodge cafeteria. Buy your pizza (or any other food you want) there, wrap it up and put it in your backpack.

Though not technically the Valley floor, hike the Four Mile Trail up to Glacier Point. Trailhead is in the Valley floor. Great view, water fountain and then eat your pizza up there. Nothing else comes remotely close.

Thank you all for your input. I've been to Sierra Point, and while I plan to visit again, I don't think we'll do lunch there.

My brother also suggested the cascade above the Ahwahnee. That is looking to be my first choice at the moment. I assume it will be flowing nicely after the recent rains and hot weather. However, if the weather is right, The El Cap meadow may be the best choice. Gonna offer a few choices to the family on that morning and see what happens.

I can appreciate the sensitivity of some of these "favorite places". So a double thank you to those who shared. I'll be sure to come back and post some follow up pictures.

Just to be clear...I would never eat Curry Village pizza anywhere but on that deck with a cold beer. It's good, but it ain't that good...I plan to pack a fun, satisfying, healthy meal of course. (Twinkies included)

"It is all very beautiful and magical here - a quality which cannot be described. You have to live it and breath it., let the sun bake it into you" - Ansel Adams

It is... (you can also see it on the Ahwahnee Webcam)Here it is from last Sunday:

I was too lazy at this point to go to the upper tub...

It literally will take MAX 10 minutes to hike to THIS location from Ahwahnee.

All that said... my first choice would be El Cap meadow. It was SOOOO nice last weekend...and it will be again this weekend. nice bike ride to there and lounge looking up at the captain.I wanna go now.. (ok, not right now... it's raining)

Easy: Sentinel Beach---walk along the river until you see fewer people. You have views of the Valley, and the river nearby

Harder: 1/4 mile up the Snow Creek Falls trail. You get above the treeline, and the views open up. Very few people take this trail in the middle of the day, for good reason. It's a steep hot climb to the top.

More strenuous: The base of Ribbons Falls west of El Cap. A very steep but short hike, very few people, views of the valley

What a wonderful weekend. The weather was perfect and even though it was free entry weekend, it was not totally overrun. Crowded, but not "July" crowded.

The Lunch spot winner from the weekend was the Upper bathtub (Devils Bathtub?) at the Royal Arches Cascade. We rode from the Upper Pines CG to Yosemite Falls and played in the mist for a while then headed back and used the valet parking for our bicycles at the Ahwahneee (just kidding). After playing at the lower cascade for a while, we quickly found the path to the upper bench and the tub.Upper Royal Arches Cascade

Obligatory Lower Yosemite Falls Shot

Left some bait to see if there might be a chick-on near Sierra Point...

Sadly, my daughter did not get the significance and ate the bait shortly thereafter.

It was a really fun, low impact, family oriented weekend. Now that I've got that out of my system. It's back to back country exploring!

"It is all very beautiful and magical here - a quality which cannot be described. You have to live it and breath it., let the sun bake it into you" - Ansel Adams